Posts Tagged ‘Sweden’
Nordic Jazz 09 Lineup Announced
Nordic Jazz Fest, hosted annually by the embassies of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, has become Nordic Jazz Week for 2009, featuring an opening performance at the Embassy of Finland on Sunday, June 14, and then two nights of performances at the House of Sweden on June 16-17.
Of note in the lineup are Norwegians Nils Petter Molvær & Arve Henriksen, who are pioneers in the peculiar kind of jazz/electronic/ambient music crossover that labels like Rune Grammofon (to which Henriksen is signed) are currently exploring. These two play as a duo on June 17, probably my most highly anticipated set of the festival. A close second is the Søren Kjærgaard Trio on June 16; Kjærgaard is a Danish pianist whose tuneful, energetic style has made him an interesting collaborator with such avant-jazz luminaries as Peter Brötzmann, Derek Bailey, Tim Berne, Herb Robertson, and more.
Full lineup, location and ticket details after the jump.
Photo of Nils Petter Molvær above courtesy his Myspace page.
Swedish Pirates Slapped With Jail Sentence
Pirates on the high seas have been stealing headlines lately, holding captains hostage and attacking their ships. But today, music industry execs struck a potentially fatal blow against e-piracy.
A Swedish court sentenced Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde–founders of the peer-to-peer (P2P) search engine/BitTorrent tracker site The Pirate Bay–to a year in jail and ordered them to pay damages of 30 million kronor ($3.54 million) to the music and film industries. (via Billboard)
Frodus Is Back(!) And Playing Murky Coffee On Wednesday
Big News: Frodus is playing Murky Coffee in Arlington on Wednesday night. Yes, Frodus is back together, at least temporarily.
Show starts around 9. Get there early.
We just talked to Shelby Cinca and got the back story on this surprise reunion. Apparently, the ground work for a full-fledged reunion show started last October at the Embassy of Sweden.
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You Know About Lykke Li…
…but do you know about the supporting band for her current tour, Wildbirds & Peacedrums?
If not, you should – combining minimalist folk, Bjork-like caterwauling vocals, unusual instrumentation (lots of kalimba and whatever that stringed contraption is in the photo above), and insanely propulsive percussion, this duo were a pleasant if slightly misplaced surprise at Nordic Jazz 08 last year. At that show atop the House of Sweden, Wilbirds & Peacedrums opened for folksy jazz group Kristian Blak & Yggdrasil. That was a odd pairing; the pairing with Lykke Li, on the other hand, is downright inspired. Both are kind of spastic and mostly high-energy indie pop, but in completely different ways that I expect will complement rather than conflict with each other.
Unfortunately the show tomorrow at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is sold out, but if you’re going, get there early enough to see the openers.
